Door-latching means



April 21, 1925. 1,534,047

V. R. WILLOUGHBY DOOR LATCHI NG MEANS Filed ont. 31, 1922 ,wrom/5% YPatented pr. 21, 1925.

UNTED STATES PA'rENr erica.

VCTOBJR. WILLOUGHBY, 0F RIDGEWOOD, NEVI JERSEY, ASSIGNOR TO AMER-CAN CAR`AND FOUNDRY COMPANY, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

DOOR-LATCHING MEANS.

Application filed October 31, 19:22. Serial No. 598,096.

i 0 all whom t may concern.'

Be it known that l., VICTOR R. VVILLOUGI-I- Br, residing at Ridgewood, Bergen County, New Jersey, and being` a citizen of the lUnited States, have invented certain new and useful improvements in a Door-Latching Means, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to malte and to use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, which illustrate the preferred form of the invention, though it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the exact det-ails of construction shown and described, as it is obvious that various modifications thereof within the scope of the claims will occur to persons skilled in the art.

In said drawings:

Fig. 1 is a fragmentary side elevation of a car showing the invention as applied thereto;

Fig. 2 is a view partly in section and on a larger scale showing the device in the lockingposition;

Fig. 3 is a section taken on'the line 3--3 of Fig. 2; Y

Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 2 with the parts shown in the door releasing position; and

Fig. 5 is a section taken on the line 5 5 of Fig. 2.

It is an object of this invention to provide an improvedlatching means for car doors which shall be simple and economical in construction and of few readily replaceable parts. It is also an object of this invention to provide a latching means which may be readily operated to release the doors, which will automatically engage with the door upon the closing of the door and which can be locked in engaging position.

In the drawing, the invention is shown applied to a car having substantially horizontal dumping doors though it is evident that the locking latch comprising my invention is equally applicable to any gravity dumping door. As illustrated a plurality of oppositely disposed latches are secured to the car side plate 1 between side posts 2 so as to engage with the angles 3 which serve to reinforce each dumping door and which project beyond the car side so as to engage with the latches. Each latching means comprises a base plate 4 secured to the side plate 1 by rivets 5, 6 and 7, the rivets 6 and 7 passing throughopenings in projections 8 and 9, respectively, which are formed integral with the base plate 4. Pivotally supported upon the projection 8 and secured thereon by the rivet 6 and washer 16 is a hook or latch 10 formed with an elongated slot 11 and having a flat surface 12 adapted to engage beneath the horizontal flange 13 of a reinforcing angle 3. The projection 9 on the base plate' 4 extends through the slot 11 and has pivotally mounted thereon an operating handle 15 which is secured on the projection 9 by a washer 14 and the rivet 7. The handle 15 comprises a cam port-ion 17 adapted to engage with a projecting cam portion 18 formed integral with the'latch 10 and a guide portion 19 which overlies the sides of the slot 11 and holds the latch y10 against the base plate 4. The handle 15 also comprises an outstanding end portion 20.

Then the door is in the closed position and the latching means locked, the parts of each latching means will be in the position shown in full lines in Fig. 2 wherein the cam portion 17 is in engagement with the cam portion 18 and the flat surface 12 is positioned beneath the flange 13. To withdraw th`e latch from beneath the flange 13 the handle 15 is moved in the direction of the arrow in Fig. 2 thereby withdrawing the cam portion 17 from the cam portion 18, the handle 15 being turned until it assumes a position such as is shown in dotted lines in said Fig. 2 whereupon the door may be rcleased by knocking each latch so as to withdraw the surface 12 from beneath the flange 13. Upon release of the latch the handle 15 will be engaged by the inner end portion 21 of the seat 12 and moved to a position such as is shown in Fig. 4. Upon the dropping of the door the latch 10 will be returned by gravity to the position shown in Fig. 2 .so that upon the closing ofthe door the inclined surface 22 of the latch will be engaged by the flange 13 so that the latch will be moved to one side and will fall by gravity to a position in which the surface 12 will be partly beneath the flange 13 as soon as the flange 1? has passed beyond the inclined surface 22. The handle 15 is then rotated bringing the caml? into engagement with `13 of door angle 3, the continued movement ot. the handle 1.3 raising, the door into its fully closed position as Vthe handle l5 Vis brought to the position shown in tu'll lines in Fig. 2. It `will be noted that in this position the handle l5 and cam 18 have passed below the horizontal plane ot thei-r axis so that the tendency of any pressure exerted by the caln 18y upon the cam 17 will be to holdv the cam 17 and cam i8 in the full. locked position.

.IVhat I claim is:

l. In a car', a door, a liiivotally mounted latch for said door having av slot spacedfrom said pivot, a locking camy for said latch and a support for saidA Cain engaging inthe slot in said latch.

2. In a car, a door, a latch for said door pivotally mounted on said. car and having a slot spaced from said pivot, a cam surface projecting from said latch and a cam operating means and a cam adapted to engage the cam surface on said latch pivotally mounted Vin said. slot.

3. In a car, a door, a slotted latch for said door pivotally mounted on said car, a cam surface on said latch and a .cam pivotally mounted in the slot in said latch and adapted to engage the cam surface upon said latchl 4. In a car, ay door, a base pl'atecarried by said car, a latch for said door pivotally mounted on said base plate, a locking cam for said latch mounted on said base plate and means on said? cani to hold saidlatch against said basei plate.

5. In a car, a` door, a base plate carried by said cair, a latch Yfor said door pivotally mounted Aon said base plate and having, a slot spaced from said pivot,'a locking. cam and a cam supporting'. means carried by said base plate and projecting through said slot.

G. In car, a door,a base; plate carried by said car, lugs projecting irom said. base plate, a latch for said door pivotal-'ly mounted on one of said lugs and havinga slot in which a second lug engages and a cam pivotally mounted on said second lug adapted to engage said latch.

7. In a car, a door, a base plate carried by' said car, lugs projecting from said base plate, a slotted latch for said' door pivotally mount-ed on one ot said lugs, and a latch engaging cam and'cam operating means pivotally mounted in said slot on another oit said lugs.

8. In a car, a door, a base plate carried by said car,v a. slotted latch :for said door pivotalfly mounted on said. base plate, a cam surtace on said latch, a cam pivotalzly mounted in they slot-in said latch` adapted to engage the cam surface onA said latch and means on said cam to hold. said latch against said; base plate.

9. In a car, a door, a base plate carriedl by said car, lugs projecting from said base plate, aA latch Jfor said door pivotally mounted on one of said lugs, and having, a slot in which a second lug` engages, and a latch engaging cam` and cam operating means pivotally mounted onV said secondi lug and adapted to hold said latch against said base plate.

l0. In a door mechanismtor railway cars, the combination with a door hinged tothe car body, of pivoted means operatively interposed between said door and the car body for releasably supporting said door in closed position, and means movable independently of said pivoted means for preventing. rotation of the latter in one direction to door releasing position and for restraining moved nient of said pivoted means in ay direction transverse to the plane of its normal pivotalr movement.

In Witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand in the presence of two witnesses.l

VICTOR R. IVILLOUGHEHT. lVitnesses:

Lno V. Io/Yom Bassin D. S'rnoNc. 

